Today, on World Wildlife Day, the World Bank is partnering with ICWICC to “get serious about wildlife crime.” We asked experts at World Wildlife Fund and the World Bank to explain the link between wildlife... Show More + crime and lack of economic opportunity. Some of the answers are collected below. World Bank experts Valerie Hickey and Bill Magrath also penned a blog about why poaching is not a “poverty problem.”Question 1: What is the connection between wildlife crime and lack of economic opportunity?Rob Steinmetz, Conservation Biologist, WWF Thailand -- “As a general observation, regardless of economic status or opportunities, most people actually do not poach. Around protected areas in this region, 99% of people could probably be classified as "impoverished". Yet 99% of people do not poach. If economic opportunity were the main driver of poaching, then wildlife would have been eradicated a very long time ago. The link between economic opportunity and poaching is more complex Show Less -

Better data monitoringThe report also found that with a few exceptions the World Bank’s projects that were reviewed did not include air pollution control as a primary objective. As a result, these projects... Show More + missed the opportunity to collect critical data, and establish baselines that would help measure the success of air pollution reduction interventions that they supported. Many developing countries lack the infrastructure and standardized methods to collect and interpret data that might inform better decision-making and help set national air quality standards. Better data and systematic monitoring are necessary if countries hope to respond to pollution. Sound analytical data and monitoring of changes over time were some of the critical factors of success in Santiago, Chile, for example, where authorities implemented cleaner transport solutions that were successful in lowering air pollution.World Bank projects in Chile, Mongolia and Peru demonstrate the importance Show Less -

The Ganga is India's most important and iconic river. It flows down from its glacial source in the high Himalayas to course through five states in the northern plains before draining into the swirling... Show More + waters of the Bay of Bengal through the Sunderbans delta, the largest mangrove system in the world. Along its 2,500 km journey, the river enriches huge swathes of agricultural land and sustains a long procession of towns and cities. The sprawling Ganga basin, an area of 860,000 sq km spread across 11 states, is the world’s most populous river basin. It is home to more than 600 million Indians, close to half the country’s population; and over 40 percent of the country’s GDP is generated in this region. The basin provides more than one-third of India’s surface water, 90 percent of which is used for irrigation. Paradoxically, this fertile region is also home to some of the poorest sections of India’s population, with more than 200 million people living below the national pov Show Less -

The torrential rain that caused flooding and landslides across Bosnia and Herzegovina last May displaced 90,000 people, affected more than 1 million and cost the economy about 15 percent of gross... Show More + domestic product (GDP) in lost output and damage. In Northern India and Pakistan, flooding in September brought nearly $18 billion in losses and marked the fifth consecutive year Pakistan suffered a billion-dollar flood. Natural disasters of this magnitude and worse occur almost every year around the world, disproportionately hitting developing countries with an economic force that can roll back their development gains and exacerbate inequality. Without efforts to build resilience, such disasters can make development investments unsustainable.“Resilience and development are inextricably linked. When we invest in infrastructure, we have to invest not just for today but for the future, and that means building resilience into everything we do,” said Rachel Kyte, World Bank Group vi Show Less -

Cohesive society, accountable bureaucracy, and committed leadershipWhile Himachal Pradesh’s special category status has made it easier for the state to access development funds, the report analyzes the... Show More + reasons behind the wise investment of these resources, why these investments led to positive outcomes, and how inter-group equity was promoted. In doing so, the report serves a strong empirical demonstration for what other states and countries going through similar transitions can do to achieve social inclusion.The report highlights the state’s unique historical and cultural context where a cohesive society together with good governance provided by an accountable bureaucracy and a trusted, ‘benevolent’ leadership has played a decisive role in driving success. The state’s commitment to expand public services to the remotest areas, together with strong community involvement and high levels of local accountability, have helped deliver services efficiently to far-flung villages across diffic Show Less -

Jan 20, 2015: Octavio Paz, Nobel-laureate and Mexico’s ambassador to India, saw India as a land of extremes. “Incredible opulence” coexisted side by side with “equally unbelievable poverty”, he wrote fifty... Show More + years ago. Is that still the case today, asks the World Bank’s recently released report, ‘Addressing Inequality in South Asia’.The report finds that while South Asia has moderate levels of inequality based on standard monetary indicators, these levels are generally rising. And, inequalities in human development outcomes, such as health and education, remain high.The bright spot for India is that growth has reduced poverty, and upward mobility has increased considerably. Where you were born, what your parents did for a living, and what their levels of education were - the most common determinants of a person’s earning potential - are no longer the sole arbiters of a person’s prospects in life, the report finds.Young Indians are far more upwardly mobile than earlier generationsYoung pe Show Less -

January 11, 2015: World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim today attended the Vibrant Gujarat Summit in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, to which he was invited by India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi.Speaking at... Show More + the inaugural session, Kim said he was fortunate to be here at a time that felt like a critical moment in India’s history. The World Bank Group is committed to helping create a vibrant India, as an India that shares its prosperity more broadly is essential to ending extreme poverty by 2030 and ensuring that many more of the world’s people live secure lives with dignity and opportunity.On the economic front, India has much reason for optimism, Kim said. The country is expected to grow even faster in 2016 making India a bright spot in an otherwise mediocre global economy.He said Prime Minister Modi and his government are putting in place the building blocks for more rapid growth, streamlining the regulatory structure, using public funds more efficiently, and promoting social inclusion.Kim Show Less -

Why are there no direct flights between Pakistan’s transit hub and the capital of Bhutan? Why is it so time-consuming for a Pakistani to obtain a visa to India? These were the exact questions explored... Show More + at this year’s SAESM, where 80 top economic students from across South Asia convened to discuss solutions to a dis-integrated South Asia. With intra-regional trade accounting for only 5% of total trade, compared to 25% in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries, South Asia stands out as the most culturally symbiotic, yet political disparate region.“Before SAESM, I had never met an Indian, or a Sri Lankan,” said Shafaat Yar Khan from Pakistan, “Borders are important but we should recognize that challenges we face in Pakistan and India are pretty similar, as a result we should make the borders irrelevant to resolve the challenges together.”During SAESM, the students from different countries came up with suggestions on improving regional integration ranging from developi Show Less -

India’s rail network is one of the most densely-used in the world. In 2012-2013, it carried over 8.7 billion passengers and about 1 billion tons of freight.Although rail transportation is more cost-effective... Show More + and environment-friendly than road, especially for long distances, India’s railway network has seen little new investment.Despite India’s growing economy and the attendant growth in the freight business, the railways have been losing market share to road transportation because of inadequate infrastructure and poor services, exacerbated by the need to fit freight trains into busy passenger service schedules. Today, 90% of India's passenger traffic and 65% of its freight uses road transportation. And these shares are growing.Now, given India’s energy security issues and escalating concerns about the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with road transport, the Government of India is committed to increasing the share of rail transportation in the country.It is seeking t Show Less -

“Well-being in life depends on opportunity in childhood, mobility in adulthood, and support throughout life,” said Martin. “Policies to address inequality should focus on ensuring equality of opportunity,... Show More + improving upward mobility, and providing adequate support to mitigate shocks for the poorest.”The report finds that despite not being the poorest region in the world, South Asia has some of the worst human development outcomes worldwide; and the comparison is even more dramatic when focusing on the outcomes of the poorest quintile. The share of children under five who are stunted among the poorest quintile is above 50 percent in Bangladesh and Nepal and reaches 60 percent in India. India and Pakistan also have some of the highest infant mortality rates and under-five child mortality rates among the poor across all comparators. Of 1,000 children born in Pakistan’s poorest population quintile, 94 will die within 12 months and 120 within five years.Inequality matters not just in it Show Less -

Additionally, the campaign implemented a strong monitoring component to ensure that successes were sustained and the new toilets were being used. Bikaner District pioneered use of a mobile phone application... Show More + to verify that communities were maintaining their open defecation free status. The application, featuring photographs and GPS coordinates, provided reliable information with real-time analysis of data. A team for independent verification was established with members that included journalists, students, and professionals working in non-governmental organizations.The results were almost immediate.The first village to become open defecation free did so within weeks of the campaign’s launch. Citizens constructed more than 500 improved toilets over the course of 10 days. A guiding principle was that toilet construction was managed by the consumers themselves hence they could design the toilets as per their needs and budget rather have having to accepts a one-size-fits-all model.“Building Show Less -

International experience helps brainstorm on building 100 ‘smart cities’Not since the industrial revolution has the world stood at such a turning point. The headlong rush towards urbanization... Show More + together with skyrocketing technological advances is reshaping much of the world.How then can India, soon to be the most populous nation on earth, use these defining transformations of the 21st century to reimagine the future?The question is urgent. For, within the next few decades 750 million of India’s people will live in urban areas - and its massive young cohorts are impatient for jobs and a better quality of life. Moreover, how these denizens use the planet’s resources will not only impact future generations of Indians but the rest of the world as well. The challenge is gargantuan – and India’s new government has taken it on by pledging to create 100 new ‘smart cities’ and refurbishing 500 old ones.What is a smart city?But, what exactly does a ‘smart city’ mean Show Less -

South Asia is home to 13-15% of the world's biodiversity including some of the world’s most endangered species. The world’s tiger population has declined alarmingly, mainly due to poaching and the encroachment... Show More + of tiger habitats. 65% of the 3,000 or so remaining wild tigers are found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal. With South Asia’s rich biodiversity, the region is a lucrative place for illegal wildlife trade. To help preserve the region's biodiversity, the Strengthening Regional Cooperation for Wildlife Protection in Asia (SRCWP) project helps countries tackle illegal wildlife trade.ChallengeAccording to The Wildlife Trade Monitoring Network (TRAFFIC) report, the seizure of parts of more than 1,400 tigers across Asia in the last 13 years indicate an alarming rate of illegal trade of tiger parts. Illegal wildlife trade is largely controlled by criminal gangs who poach flagship species such as tigers and elephants in one country, store them in another, and then trade them outside Show Less -

Making Each Rupee go a Longer WayHow do we utilize every rupee spent on health care... Show More + in the best possible way? The issue is particularly important for India as it ramps up health spending and moves forward on its ambitious agenda of providing health insurance to all under the National Health Assurance Mission (NHAM).Even the world’s richest countries cannot assure all possible health services for every member of their population. In India the challenge is far greater. The country needs to meet the healthcare needs of one-sixth of all humanity with less than 1 percent of the funds spent globally on health care.Presently, India spends about 4 percent of its GDP on health, much less than other countries at similar income levels. And of this, about 60 percent is spent by households, making them susceptible to impoverishment due to catastrophic health expenses.The gove Show Less -

Opportunity in childhood is characterized by adequate access to education, healthcare, and sanitation. While education attainment has improved throughout the region, albeit of varying quality, access to... Show More + sound healthcare and sanitation has been more uneven. The report finds that the education level, location, and class of the parents have a great effect on the opportunity prospects of their children.Atiur Rahman, the Central Bank Governor of Bangladesh, stressed the importance of education, noting that while he came from a poor family, he was able to study at the top schools in Bangladesh and around the world with the help of scholarships, helping him break out of the cycle of poverty. Bangladesh has invested heavily to increase access to girls’ education and female participation in the labor force, helping improve economic opportunities related to gender and social norms.Ana Revenga, the World Bank’s Senior Director for Poverty, added that greater economic opportunities for Show Less -

20 year old Eshwar stopped going to school five years ago when he developed severe headaches and breathing problems. When nothing made him feel better, his family took him to the government hospital... Show More + in a nearby Karnataka town where the doctors advised a heart valve replacement.Shaken by the diagnosis, Eshwar’s parents didn’t know what to do. They came from a poor rural family and would never be able to afford the expensive surgery needed to save their young son’s life.Luckily, the Karnataka government’s new medical insurance program for the poorest had just got underway. The program – known as the Vajpayee Arogyashree Scheme (VAS) – provided free tertiary medical care to families living below the poverty line for a range of complex illnesses, mostly cardiac, oncologic, neurologic, burn, and trauma care, which are often expensive to treat.A VAS counsellor took the family to a medical camp organized by the main government hospital in Dharwad town. The program requires empanel Show Less -

“Our intention is to help mainstream the construction of resource-efficient residential and commercial buildings by bringing together governments, green building councils, financial institutions, developers,... Show More + and homeowners. We have made great progress laying the groundwork for success in South Africa and hope to quickly replicate our strategy in other major markets,” Kapoor said. Encouraging efficiency through certificationThe Green Business Council of South Africa and IFC recently launched an EDGE certification program in South Africa, focused on the residential property sector, and certification is being rolled out in India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Colombia, Costa Rica, and Panama.The voluntary certification is a way for builders to demonstrate the benefits of green efficiencies to residents, owners, and investors. Buildings that use 20 percent less energy, water, and embodied energy in building materials than their peers – as demonstrated by the EDGE tool – achiev Show Less -

The Bank Group has transferred $105 million in emergency funding to Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone to fight Ebola — more money to date than any other international organization,... Show More + the president said. Overall, the Bank Group has committed $400 million to support treatment and containment.The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said that in a worst-case scenario, 1.4 million people could become infected with Ebola.“We must do all we can to prevent thousands more needless deaths and an economic catastrophe. … Our ability to boost shared prosperity in West Africa — and potentially the entire African continent — may be quickly disappearing,” Kim said. “Unless we stop the infection’s spread now, there will be little prosperity to share, to say nothing of the number of people who will be unable to share in what remains.”Boosting shared prosperity and tackling inequality requires two key steps on the World Bank Group’s part, said Kim. The Show Less -

A visitor to Gandhinagar, capital of the Indian state of Gujarat, is likely to notice the glint of the sun reflecting off solar panels on the city’s rooftops. Some sit atop schools, other on hospitals.... Show More + Many are perched on residential buildings. Altogether, the panels generate about 5 MW of electricity, providing better access to power for an estimated 10,000 people.The groundbreaking project, a pilot public-private partnership (PPP), attracted approximately $12 million in private financing. Besides adding power generation capacity, it reduces climate emissions by more than seven million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually and complements the 270 MW Gujarat Solar Park, Asia’s largest, in helping the state reach its goal of producing 500 MW annually from renewable sources. But the greatest success of Gujarat’s solar rooftop program, playfully referred to as “rent-a-roof project,” lies in its replicability. Launched in 2010 with the help of the IFC, which served as trans Show Less -

40 year old Paravva Chinnappa Jawoor has seen her life change markedly. Before she joined the SHG, her illiterate family saw no advancement at all, and could not afford to educate their children. Today... Show More + Paravva earns a living making vermicelli with a machine bought on loan from Sujala, together with some private borrowing. In the eight years she has been with the SHG, she has gained the confidence to deal with people outside her village, learnt how to run a business, can sell her wares in nearby Hubli town, and is generally self-sufficient.The SHGs have also worked to improve village conditions. The Rynal village, for instance, the local school now has computers and better hygiene, and drinking water is available through a tap for 2 hours a day. Once-empty wells have been recharged and several bus stops have been set up to make it easier for inhabitants to travel to the city. “One of the most far-reaching impacts of the project was the true empowerment of wom Show Less -